Christine Sinclair passes Mia Hamm for 2nd all-time goals

DH Vancouver StaffFeb 14, 2016 6:43 pm

Christine Sinclair is a once-in-a-generation talent that has been the tireless, peerless flag-bearer – both figuratively and literally – of the Canadian women’s national soccer team for more than fifteen years.

In short, Christine Sinclair is a pretty big deal. On Sunday, she became an even bigger one.

Sinclair scored her 159th career international goal in the 63rd minute in Canada’s 6-0 demolition of Trinidad & Tobago. The goal puts her 2nd all-time on the international goal scoring list.

She scored the goal just two minutes after subbing into the game on an offside-trap-breaking run.

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The win all but secures Canada’s spot atop their group in the 2016 Olympic Qualifying tournament, while the goal certainly secures Sinclair’s spot in the conversation for one of the game’s all-time greats.

“It’s an incredible honour,” said Sinclair after the match. “But it’s so nice to get it off my back. I had a couple of games without scoring a goal and it was weighing on me a little bit, so it’s nice to get it out of the way and allow myself, and the team, to focus on our goal for this tournament, which is to qualify for the Olympics.”

Should Canada make it to Rio 2016 – and all they need is a win in the semi-finals of their qualifying tournament to do it – Sinclair & Co. will have a chance to improve on their bronze medal from London 2012 and perhaps avenge their controversial, heartbreaking loss in 2012 to the Americans.

Not only that, but it will give Sinclair a chance to get closer to the top of the all-time goal-scoring charts – a spot currently occupied by one of the prime culprits of the London 2012 shenanigans, Abby Wambach. To be fair, 25 goals is a fairly sizable gap in international soccer and time isn’t exactly on the 32-year-old Sinclair’s side.

Still, anything’s possible – and hope springs eternal for getting one over on those [expletive] cocky Yanks.